Hawaii in April (1 Viewer)

[kidsdoc]

Hello All looking for a little advice.

We are taking the family to Hawaii in April. This inculudes me, my wife, son 14, and daughter 12. Staying 7 nights on the Big island and 6 nights on Maui. We have our flights booked and rental cars rented. We are staying in Volcano for 2 night to do the national park and 5 nights in Kona. We have planned a night snorkle with the manta Rays. On Maui the only thing we have planned is taking a day to explore the Road to Hana.

Does anyone have any advice on must do with kids? We like to be active and are planning on hiking and snorkling a lot. We would also consider fishing for a day if anyone has any recomendations.

Thank you

 

[jamny]

Just booked the Big Island in May

We went to Maui and Kauai years ago. We did the helicopter ride in Kauai but I'm sure there are good ones in Maui. Make sure your kids aren't easily car sick because the Road to Hana is extremely winding. Fun to do once, but I wouldn't do it a second time.

 

[bierfiend]

haleakala at sunrise, bike ride down- though will be tougher due to acclimating to the time change. basically, a van drives you to the top of the crater. fun to walk around check out the sunrise, then coast downhill for 7 miles to the beach. very fun activity on maui.

windsurfing, snuba, sail-surfing (not sure of the exact term), paddleboarding, surfing, kayaking

 

[kidsdoc]

Thank you for the ideas so far.

 

[The General]

In no particular order:

Staying in Volcano will let you take your time checking out the park and that side if the island which a lot of people don't do. Check the park site to see if the lava is flowing, if so hiking up to it at sunset/night was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I did this with my wife and brother and dad, no kids though so not sure if it would be something to do with kids. Something unique to look into at least.

Both islands have zip lining. I did this on Maui and it was fun.

If you don't have already pick up snorkel, mask, fin set here before you leave. You will get what you want and not have to mess with renting.

Maui has a lot of great snorkel places that are very accessible, Big Island not so much in my experience.

The Big Island takes a little more planning because it is, well really big. The observatory in the middle of island is fairly neat, the east side of the island in general all the way down to Hilo is very pretty with lots of lush areas, waterfalls, etc. There is a lot to see and depending if you want to have any chill time by the pool you'll need to plan things out pretty well.

If you don't bike down Haleakala on Maui at least got to top. Sunrise is neat but you need to get up crazy early, sunset is also cool and not as crowded. It's an amazing drive up there.

Great fish tacos at Coconuts in Kihei, doesn't look like much but super good.

Really can't go wrong both islands are great spots for vacations.

There are a few other threads on both islands in here as well if you search they have more info.

 

[jon_mx]

An interesting morning adventure would be to drive to South Point on the Big Island. It is the southern most point on the Big Island and also the US for that matter. Probably can watch some people fishing off the pier there. Hike about 2.5-3 miles to the east along the coast. A beautiful walk. And you end up at a green sand beach, which there are only 2 or 3 in the world. You could drive it, but the last time I was there unless you had a 4 wheel drive jeep, you would get stuck. Actually the road from the highway to south point is technically forbidden by most rental car companies, but it is not bad at all.

 

[jon_mx]

Getting some surf lessons for the kids in Maui is a must too. The kids will love it. If you aren't in decent physical shape, you may want to just stay on land and film them. It is quite a bit of workout to swim your board out each time. After 3 or 4 times, you will be pretty winded.

 

[Prince Myshkin]

My wife is going for a conference at the end of March. My daughter and I are tagging along, but we aren't staying as long or have as much planned as you. Only going to Oahu (conference is in Honolulu)...we're staying three nights there and then three nights on the north shore. Anybody have any suggestions there???

 

[jon_mx]

My wife is going for a conference at the end of March. My daughter and I are tagging along, but we aren't staying as long or have as much planned as you. Only going to Oahu (conference is in Honolulu)...we're staying three nights there and then three nights on the north shore. Anybody have any suggestions there???

Well you have to spend a day on Waikiki, maybe rent a Paddle board. Spend part of a day visiting and snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. You can also drive a bit north of Hanauma Bay and see some pretty rock formations along the coast. It is a bit touristy, but the pineapple ice cream at the Dole Plantation is amazing. The plantation itself is OK, the maze is kind of cool. If you had a boy, a trip to Pearl Harbor would be cool. Up on the north side, spending some time at the Polynesian Center would be interesting. Lots of interesting beaches on the north side to watch surfing and other water activities. Also lots of good places to eat along the road side.

 

[Controller]

My wife is going for a conference at the end of March. My daughter and I are tagging along, but we aren't staying as long or have as much planned as you. Only going to Oahu (conference is in Honolulu)...we're staying three nights there and then three nights on the north shore. Anybody have any suggestions there???

My wife and kids loved swimming with the dolphins at https://www.dolphinquest.com/index.php/hawaii_experience

The Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor is a must see if you've never been.

Oahu is awesome - it's crowded compared to the other islands, but it's still paradise.

 

[jon_mx]

My wife is going for a conference at the end of March. My daughter and I are tagging along, but we aren't staying as long or have as much planned as you. Only going to Oahu (conference is in Honolulu)...we're staying three nights there and then three nights on the north shore. Anybody have any suggestions there???

My wife and kids loved swimming with the dolphins at https://www.dolphinquest.com/index.php/hawaii_experience

The Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor is a must see if you've never been.

Oahu is awesome - it's crowded compared to the other islands, but it's still paradise.

Honolulu probably has the most consistently most awesome weather on the planet. Even during that hot summer season, you are only talking 75-89 degrees. I was just there a couple weeks ago for work. Just spent most of my free time around Waikiki area. Weather and water were absolutely perfect every day except one day there were some brief showers and it was overcast.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

I would avoid Pearl Harbor. Thought it was a waste of several hours. Everyone in our party agreed

 

[PinkydaPimp]

My wife is going for a conference at the end of March. My daughter and I are tagging along, but we aren't staying as long or have as much planned as you. Only going to Oahu (conference is in Honolulu)...we're staying three nights there and then three nights on the north shore. Anybody have any suggestions there???

Been there twice in the last year. Enjoy! Here were my favorite things to do:

Did this helicopter tour. It was AWESOME!!

http://www.bluehawaiian.com/

2 hour horseback tour at Kualoa Ranch

http://www.kualoa.com/oahu-tours/horseback-tours/

Pearl harbor i thought was worth the visit. However, be prepared for alot of people and book tickets in advance. The tour of the USS Arizona was pretty cool.

if you guys like sushi check out sushi ii.

For great hawaiian food check out ono. its BYOB too.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ono-hawaiian-foods-honolulu

Have fun!

 

[Tick]

Buy the book Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed - it's available at the Costco near the airport on the Kona side. Choose things from there. I have three sets of family members who've lived in Kona for 15+ years, and they don't know of many things that aren't in the book.

Here's what we did a couple of years ago on the big island, based in Kona - I happen to have the daily quick description of what we did each day on the wall behind my monitor (wife likes to look at it once in awhile)... we had kids from 4-9 with us, which affected our choices a bit, and also led us to have some cool-down times. I also went to a few things that were important to me based on memories of childhood trips to Kona.

Day 1: King Kamehameha beach, Energy Lab tide pool walk. Saw whales. Ate at U-Top-It (crepe place)

2: South Point, coffee plantation tour, Black Sands Beach, ice cream, Kileaua Crater

3: Hapuna Beach, Kahalau snorkeling

4: Kona Inn lunch, grandma's pool, shopping

5: Waipio, Akaka Falls, smoothies, friends' house in Hilo, warm pools in Hilo, lava flow

6: Kuki'o, Kikaua - turtles, fun with kids, snorkeling, birthday party

7: Saw uncle, Grandma's pool, ate at Costco (crap day)

8: Makalwena beach, Bubba Gump's, frisbee on beach

9: Mauna Kea beach, lunch at Killer Tacos, manta ray dive

10: Lava Java breakfast, walk at Royal Kona, saw Rango, more Killer Tacos

11: Hapuna beach, koi pond, Sunburn Beach

12: Snorkel with dolphins (off the Ironman starting spot - just saw them and headed out with fins, spent ~1 hour swimming with them), ate at Royal Kona, day messed up by tsunami warning

13: Cloud forest, Saddle Road, Rainbow Falls, Boiling Pots/PeePee (?), smoothie shack (tsunami hit day)

14: Ali'i Drive walk after tsunami to look at wreckage, pack for home

Best beaches:

1. Hapuna

2. Makalawena

3. Mauna Kea

(IMO, don't bother with green and black beaches - they aren't comfortable on the feet)

 

[=Smackdown=]

Did Maui last year. Zip line was really cool and the kids would definitely enjoy it.

 

[kardplayer]

I skimmed the above, but I want to +1 getting the "Big Island Revealed" (and the ones for the other islands too). Awesome guide book(s).

At Maui, we've stayed at the Four Seasons and Fairmount down in Wailea, and Napili Kai Resort, across from Kapalua. Highly highly recommend Napili Kai as I believe it was significantly cheaper, yet still a great hotel/location/etc. If you and either of your kids are golfers, Napili Kai has a rate with Kapalua, plus Kapalua does a kids play free after X o'clock (can't remember the exact time). We got there about 30 minutes before our tee time, and were able to get in the full 18 holes for a reasonable resort price (I think I paid about $150/$200 for my son and me to play, to rent a cart, both sets of clubs AND a cart for my dad to ride around and watch us).

Haleakala sunrise is awesome. My advice is do it the night you get there, before you are adjusted to the time zone. Bring sweatshirts/warm clothes - it is FREEZING there before sunrise.

Ziplining is super fun, by far my favorite was in the northern Big Island (much better than the Maui one we did IMHO). You can get that one while you are staying in Kona.

Road to Hana - somehow I've manage to get wrangled into going 3 times. I would say it is good if you plan to stop and get out a lot and check out the waterfalls. If you are just going for the drive, don't bother. We did a cool hike about 15-30 minutes past Hana, but be sure to wear hiking clothes, not bathing suits, as we paid for that mistake for a few days. If you are really into hiking, you might want to consider staying in Hana overnight. I haven't done it, as there seems to be nothing to do in Hana I night (I could be wrong there), but you could spend a lot more time hiking and exploring the road to hana if you weren't driving 6 hours (round trip) by trying to go to your hotel and back on the same day.

Tons of fancy dinner places on Maui that are "worth" the money, but our favorite was Mama's Fishhouse. On Kona, we stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa and ate at KPC a couple times it was so good.

Luau wise, we did the Old Lahaina Luau and the Luau at the Hilton Waikoloa. The Old Lahaina is the most famous (I think) and it was more of an "experience" than the Hilton was.

Snorkeling, no specific recommendations, aside from I like doing the catamaran snorkel tour as you get a boat ride and snorkeling together. That said, snorkeling off the beach at your hotel will likely be pretty cool too - so don't miss that. I agree with having your own snorkel, although I think we bought ours at a snorkel shop (not the hotel) when we got there, and it was fine/not crazy overpriced.

Also on Maui, we took an "America's Cup Sailboat ride". Definitely not a must do, but it was fun to be out on the water for a few hours - and it takes off from Lahaina, which is the truly "touristy" part of Maui with the junk shops and restaurants.

Wasn't a huge fan of the dolphin thing at the Hilton in Kona - especially after going to Discovery Quest in Orlando. I would look for snorkel tours that "guarantee" dolphins (there's major fine print there since they obviously can't be sure they'll find dolphins), but one of my friends did that and she thought it was awesome.

I heard the night snorkel is awesome - definitely recommend.

No ideas on fishing, except that Lahaina has a bunch of fishing boats. Can't vouch for any of them.

Eat Shave Ice.

 

[Judge Smails]

I'll post later. Some good suggestions re beaches, snorkeling spots, etc. went for 12 days in the summer on the Big Island. Trust me - call Kris at Sea Hawaii rafters for both the day snorkeling trip and manta ray dive (latter is the coolest experience ever). You will see Dolphin. Kris is so cool - we go out with him every time we go back.

To be honest the volcano overnight was a little bit of a letdown. Saw the crater glow at night, but the next day was sort of boring.

Beach Tree restaurant at 4 seasons is great. I'll post more later. We circled the island - had a blast.